Apple makes it easy for iPhones to self-heal.Here’s how it works

Apple is finally making iPhone repairs easier by making used Apple parts available for repairs to customers and third-party service providers. The Cupertino-based technology giant says the new process will help maintain user privacy, security and safety, while providing customers with more options and extending the lifespan of its products.

Apple announced the update in a blog post, saying, “Used Apple Genuine Parts can now benefit from the same full functionality and safety provided by factory conditioning as new Genuine Apple Parts. It will be,” he wrote.

In particular, Apple users have previously been unable to repair their iPhones with used parts due to a process called “parts pairing,” which matches the device’s serial number to new parts sold by Apple. So if an iPhone user replaces a display or camera with a used part, they’ll receive a notification that Apple can’t verify the newly installed part and that Face ID and Touch ID may no longer work with the new hardware. .

However, Apple has previously defended this process, saying that maintaining user privacy and security requires using genuine components in its devices. Despite the process changes, Apple continues to champion “combination of parts,” as John Tarnas, the company’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, told TechCrunch. What we’re saying is that if you know what kind of module is in there, you can be sure that when you put that module into your new phone, you’ll get the best quality possible. Why is that a bad thing? ”

In addition to allowing the use of older genuine parts, Apple is also strengthening its process for tracking used iPhone parts. The company announced that it will add an activation lock feature to iPhone parts to prevent stolen iPhones from being disassembled for parts.

“If the device being repaired detects that a supported part was obtained from another device that has Activation Lock or Lost Mode enabled, the part’s adjustment capabilities will be limited,” Apple says. explained in a blog post.